IS THREATENING SPEECH - "HATE SPEECH"?

Never let it be said that we liberals aren't "compassionate" and "understanding" and all that other highly touted stuff. I even feel pity for Rush Limbaugh. He's like a kid who just found out that the rich man whose been doting on him isn't really his father. He may go through all the same bragadocio and bluster with his chums, but it just isn't the same; the plug on his Power has been pulled. Clearly Rush Limbaugh feels threatened with Obama now as President. He's used to being treated like family by the Bush adminestration as one of the corporation boys. Too bad George didn't invite Rush to fly back with him to Crawford, Texas. Rush rightly points out that he has no real power. No government empowered him as it did President Obama. He was doing this "What? Little old me?" argument in saying he's as harmless as a bee that has lost its stinger. The word for this for you in Rio Linda is "impotent". And that's a terrible thing to be. Rush is afraid that the Bush Adminestration criminals just might be brought to justice. He's scared spitless of all these executive orders on prisoner torture that Obama is undoing. It's like Bush is melting in a pool before him saying "How could you destroy all my wonderful rotenness". And Rush fears the masses. Political leaders who has support of the masses are called populists, and eletists such as Rush have always been afraid of populists. It galls Rush that the mear fact that Obama is still alive and not gunned down by a whacko- - his mere presence in Power is a threat to Rush because people like Rush, who opperate on fear, are threatened by Hope. That is, a Hope engendered by masses of the population who are looking to President Obama.

It kind of gets you wondering about the believability of the life of Jesus Christ. People who listened to Jesus's words would be noting things. Jesus praises prostitutes and hangs around with them. "Jesus wants to undermine society morals". Jesus taught on the workers in the Vinyard. "Jesus thinks you ought to play it smart and work as little as possible. Jesus uses the slothful to shame the dilligent. Jesus believes in unfair pay". Also they would note all of the parables about a King and those who doubted his right to rule, and often of vengence taken by the King against the people. The people knew of only one king and that was Caesar, or more to the point, Pontious Pilate. In other words, stripped of the supernatural componet, which the "holy host" on KFI wants us to do, Jesus would not be at all that popular with the people, and news of his demise would not come as all that big a disappointment. Thom Hartman brought out an interesting fact. Sometimes big "Institutions" do things and decree things, perhaps not for the reasons you'd anticipate. For instance torture was instituted not to extract the truth from those subjected to it- - but rather to instill terror among the populace. In like manner the Church's attitude twords "forgiveness offered any time" is not all that "gracious" as one would suppose. They know as long as the people have hope- - there is that "thing" hanging over their head and guilt may induce them to make a monitary donation even if they don't feel "saved".

Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn her name from consideration for Hillary Clinton's senate post. I am somewhat surprised by this. But it seems Hillary people want Andrew Cuomo to fill the post and no matter what the media says about her that's glowing and positive, or no matter how she primps herself into perfect political posturing- - it seems as if some unseen hand will be ruling the day and Camelot won't be extended in the Senate chamber any time soon.

You can learn a lot from soap opera characters. Being a man there are things I am good at and things I'm not so good at. I'm really bad at saying one thing and having an altogether alternate agenda to what I'm professing with my words. As such I'm make a poor Evangelist. Duplicity is their bread and butter. Women go at things differently then men. If a man were to confront another man who had backed out on a deal they made together he'd flat out say "Did you lie to me? Why are you going back on your word? What in the hell posessed you?" and also slip in a few lines about how the guy has no character. A woman, say who wants to adopt the unborn baby of another would take an alltogether different approach. She would empathise with her new found comrad. But sometimes this can backfire on even an expert manipulater. For instance Nicole was going on and on about "You'll never know the pain of having had a live baby inside you and feeling its life, and then having it taken from you. It's an awful, horrible feeling that nobody should have to go through". The response was apt. The other woman said "Well, if it's really that awful, why would you wish such a horrible thing on me? I happened to think of Jesus and his crusifiction. It's spoken of in the most superlative terms as something no man other than Christ would possiblly be able to endure, and the unique pain of it all. One may well come right back with the retort, "Well, if it's that awful, why to pastors routinely damand that I continually atone for sins by dying to my fleshly desires, as if I could earn my own salvation? Of course you've heard the carrots analogy. One hundred percent of the people who ate carrots who lived during the Civil War are dead now. Therefore carrots cause death. But then they will go on to say "Of course people will eat carrots. We can't prevent that entirely. However if you buy this magic charm and rub it before meals, it will save you from the deadly consequences of carrots. In like manner Bush and Mc Cain brag how the Republicans have kept us safe from terrorist attacks - knock on wood - ever since 9 - 11. And this is all due to the fine policies of the Bush Adminestration. This in a nut shell is the beginning of rule by Fear. In soap operas characters who dominate others motivated by various resentments usually "show their true colors" sooner or later, often becomming psycho-killers. The trick is to spot these despots before they go psycho on us and get out of control so that the situation can't be remedied by any other way than violence. Clark Kent one said that descretion is the better part of valor. I won't pass judgement on that. I think God tests people's metal in various ways and perhaps he gives people a choice. You can deal with manipulative despots early, or wait till a more "serious testing" of a man is called for to deal with them, as intoned in the Lord's prayer "Lead us not into temption" or in other words "Putting us to the test". Thank God we wern't put to the ultimate test with George Bush. He left of his own accord on the appointed day. We can take solice in this.